Theresa Gessler, Ph.D.

gessler@ipz.uzh.ch


PostDoc

University of Zurich

Year of PhD: 2019

City: Zurich

Country: Switzerland

About Me:

I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Political Science at the University of Zurich and part of the Digital Democracy Lab. I study how technological change transforms democracies with a focus on processes of political participation.I hold a PhD from the European University Institute in Florence where I analyzed political competition on immigration and democracy with a focus on how and why parties speak about these topics in election campaigns, manifestos and public debate and how citizens form their opinions. I was a part of the POLCON Research Project on the political consequences of the Great Recession. My research interests include conceptions of democracy, political parties and social movements, particularly in Eastern Europe. Methodologically, I am interested in the analysis of different kinds of text. Currently, I mostly work with handcoded datasets and computational methods but I also have experience with conducting semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis. 

Research Interests

European Politics

Political Parties and Interest Groups

Text as Data

Elections, Election Administration, and Voting Behavior

Post-Communist Politics

NGOs

Democracy

Party Conflict

Countries of Interest

Hungary

Germany

Poland

My Research:

I am a Researcher at the Department of Political Science at the University of Zurich and a PhD Candidate at the European University Institute in Florence.  My PhD research asks how and why parties speak about democracy and the political system in election campaigns, manifestos and public debate. I am part of the POLCON Research Project on the political consequences of the Great Recession. My research interests include conceptions of democracy, political parties and social movements, particularly in Eastern Europe. Methodologically, I am interested in the analysis of different kinds of text. Currently, I mostly work with handcoded datasets and computational methods but I also have experience with conducting semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis. 

Media Appearances:

Newspaper Quotes:

(2017) Jungle World

'Die unerwünschte Universität' - report about the situation of Central European University in Hungary, featuring two quotes from me on the role of Fidesz in European Politics and CEU's role within Hungary

Blog Posts:

(2018) LSE EUROPP Blog

Parliamentary elections will be held in Hungary on 8 April. We preview the vote, noting that although the governing Fidesz party has a sizeable polling lead, the contest promises to be closer than the last parliamentary election four years ago.

(2018) Who Governs Europe Blog

Same Same but Different? Germany's way to a new-old grand coalition